Michael Duncan became superintendent in June of 2005. He is currently one of Georgia’s longest continuously serving school superintendents. He is the winner of the 2018 Georgia School Superintendents Association’s Bill Barr Leadership Award, a 2018 and 2019 Superintendent of the Year Finalist, the 2021 Superintendent of the Year Winner, and a 2012 recipient of the Georgia School Superintendents President’s Award. Before arriving in Pike, Michael was a high school principal, high school and middle school assistant principal, and a middle school teacher. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Georgia in 2004. He is married to his best friend Melanie and they have two sons, Josh and Alec.
Dr. Duncan believes that the goal of schooling is to create independent thinkers and problem-solvers. Content is the vehicle to teach critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. He feels strongly that parents are the educators-in-chief of their child’s education, thus advocating for parents and students to have greater choice and flexibility in the public school setting. He is often heard saying, “We must educate our children for the world they will live in, not the one we are living in.” Dr. Duncan was a primary advocate for Pike County’s “Portrait of a Graduate” student curriculum and has been instrumental to its success and to the overall success of Pike County in advancing the career opportunities of our graduates.
After appearing as a finalist for the third time in four years, Dr. Duncan won the award for Georgia's Superintendent of the Year in 2021.
Dr. Duncan won the Bill Barr Award after being nominated as a finalist for Superintendent of the Year for the first time in his career.
Dr. Duncan was awarded the Superintendent President's award for his successful introduction of the Portrait of a Graduate Curriculum.
